K9 Tracked Missing Child For Over 2 Miles: Auburn Police

AUBURN, MA — A police dog was instrumental in finding a 12-year-old child who went missing, tracking the child for over two miles, according to police.

Police learned that the child had left home at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. The child was last seen in the Pakachoag Hill area of Auburn.

Police officers and state troopers converged on the area in an attempt to locate the child. Police were concerned due to the freezing temperatures and the "nature of the incident."

"Officer [David] Ljunggren and his K9 partner Biza were deployed. K9 Biza was able to pick up a scent and began to track the scent," police wrote in a Facebook post. "K9 Biza tracked for a length of over two miles and led Officers to an area where evidence showed that the child had been present a short time earlier. Officers converged on this area and located the child a short time later. The child was reunited with their family and is safe.

"We are proud of the hard work put in by K9 Biza and are happy to report a positive outcome!"

Biza is a female German shepherd, according to the Auburn Police Department's website.

One of her most important roles is in locating "missing children, missing elderly persons, or persons with disabilities who have wondered off." She also performs "basic police related functions, such as answering calls for service, while supplementing the Patrol and Detective Divisions with K9 applications."

Last year, Biza assisted in finding a missing 25-year-old man "in possible distress" in Shrewsbury. Biza found the man less than an hour after he was reported missing.